India's meteoric rise is set to transform the world as China's image continues to be tarnished. A recent report by German publication Der Spiegel highlighted how India is being viewed as a reliable partner, while China is considered to be unpredictable. The pandemic further unsettled many, as the government imposed strict lockdowns, and President Xi Jinping proclaimed himself the country's eternal leader. In response, a huge number of companies are rushing to find alternatives to their factories in China, with many turning to India.
New Delhi has established a multibillion-dollar subsidy program to attract companies interested in producing things like semiconductors, batteries, and mobile phones in India. The plan has been praised by even critical economists. The Indian economy has left the British in the dust, with the country's steel factories among the largest in the world. Over 50% of all children in the world will receive at least one vaccine produced in India during their lifetime. India's rise is also good news for the West, as it is set to become the world's third-largest economy behind the US and China, essentially becoming a third economic anchor in a multipolar world.
India has grown ever closer to the West in recent years, though it doesn't necessarily share all of the West's values. However, India also isn't a country harbouring dreams of annexing islands and shares American and European concerns about Chinese dominance in Asia. India is already home to strong IT and pharmaceutical industries, with forecasts from JP Morgan in the US predicting that 25% of all Apple smartphones will be produced in India just two years from now.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi sees digitalisation as a means of achieving one of his most important goals: the elimination of poverty. The government has made significant progress toward that target, with over 400 million Indians escaping poverty in the last 20 years. PM Modi is even using his current G-20 presidency to further his narrative of India's rebirth. New high-speed trains are going from city to city, and around 80 new airports are to be built in the coming years.
This year, the Indian economy is expected to continue on its growth path, with forecasts calling for an uptick of 6 percent. Among the world's largest economies, only Saudi Arabia is forecast to experience stronger growth. India's economic rise holds promise for the country and beyond. It is now the world's most populous country and will likely soon become the third largest economy on the globe. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is projecting that India will contribute 15% of global growth in 2023. India's population is young, salaries are relatively low, and the nation's potential is enormous. Many currently believe that India's moment has finally arrived, and the country is gripped by optimism.
As Singapore-based political scientist Kishore Mahbubani recently said during an interview with Fareed Zakaria on CNN, "I don't know how Modi did it, but he's woken up a sleeping giant." Investment bankers from Morgan Stanley even announced recently that "India's decade" is just starting. With a reliable partner in India, and China's image tarnished, the world could see a transformation that many never thought possible.
